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Monstrous Fun with Fruits and Vegetables

By Bridget Noel Welch Kamke

Halloween is a time when we are inundated with sweet junk food, but we can have fun with foods that are good for us too by making monsters out of vegetables and fruits! It’s a fun activity for parents and kids alike.

It is a good idea to prepare the fruits or vegetables in advance. Clean and cut veggies or fruits into shapes that would be fun to work with. Include round, flat, long, large, small pieces and more for use in various parts of monsters.

For easiest monster creation, make them on plates. For smaller children, there is no need to fasten parts together and build three dimensionally when a fun monster or scary face can be formed on the dish. Working three dimensionally is definitely an option, and is encouraged for more dexterous artists like older children and adults.

Funny shaped tomatoes or peppers can be the monsters themselves; just add a face

Use toothpicks for connecting or stabilizing

Seeds can be used as eyes or teeth

Grapes and cherries may become heads, hands, or feet

Incorporate parts you normally cut off during prep, like the hairy twisted bottom of a beet, which can make a great snout. Stems of fruits may also become parts of the monster.

Make it colorful with berries, bananas, watermelon, mango, cantaloupe, honeydew, and kiwi. Think about textures as well when selecting produce. How can you use a kiwi’s hairy skin, for instance?

Do this with a few families and have everyone bring some produce. Organize and keep track of who is bringing what when they RSVP and you can make sure to have variety to work with. Have fun, and let your imagination run wild!